Let’s face it. We all go through tough times in our lives. For those of you who say, “I’ve had a great life and nothing really bad has happened to me.” I would say, “Hold on! Your time is coming.”

The one Latin phrase that I really remember from my two years of Latin in high school is: “Vita est Dura.” Life is hard. I have found it true that scattered among the joyous times of life are the tough times.

I have neglected my blog for quite some time, because frankly the tough times have overwhelmed me. It is only by looking back at how God has carried me through other tough times, that I am certain He will carry me now. Both in our personal and “leader” lives we will be faced with tough times. How on earth can we push through?

Let’s face it; we all have a fear of something. I know people that are afraid of spiders, heights, speaking in front of an audience or flying in an airplane. While those things don’t impact me, snakes and needles are high on my list of things to avoid! While some fear is healthy as our body warns us of danger, fear can also be debilitating. When fear sets in, it causes us to stop in our tracks and lose focus of everything else around us.

I had the opportunity to serve on a women’s retreat weekend recently and the visual for the weekend showed a woman pushing through the gates of fear toward the hope of a brighter future. I began to think about the fears that we face in our daily lives. We may have the fear of financial despair, the fear of safety for those we love, the fear that the dreams we held are not coming to fruition. One thing I know about fear, it will steal your joy. How can you keep the fear of the future from robbing you of the joy of today?

It’s the end of December and it’s time to close the book on the past year. Some of us will have experienced great joy through events such as a wedding, the birth of a child or the start of a new career. Others will have experienced great sorrow and perhaps loss, such as the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, sorrow from having to leave home and relocate or being faced with an illness that interrupts our life. Finally, we may be ambivalent; nothing really great or terrible seemed to happen to us in the past year.

Whichever category you find yourself in, it is time to close the book and look ahead. The truth is that we cannot change the past; we can only learn from it and seek the treasures that the past leaves.

One word…one sentence…makes more of an impact than you know. Just as a stone ripples the water when thrown into the lake, our words impact all who hear them. Words fling open the door for others to be encouraged and feel confident or words close the door and bring thoughts of inadequacy and failure. What are the words you hear? What are the words you speak? Let’s open the door and think about the power of our words.

November seems to be the time of the year that we stop and consider all that we are thankful for. Gratitude becomes the word of the month and I believe that it is powerful to look around and ponder the things for which we are grateful! Appreciation and gratitude was going to be the focus of this piece, but life happens and the experiences of the day are dictating a slight re-routing of my thoughts.

As a school principal, I worked hard to have an open door policy with my staff. In addition to keeping my office door open, I set aside time every Monday to make myself available to whoever wanted to drop by and speak with me. Did they have a procedural question? Were clarifications needed about an upcoming event? Perhaps they just wanted to share something exciting or troublesome that was going on in their life.

With all of my intent to be open and available to my staff, it never failed. A huge deadline would be looming and there was much that needed to be done. It was at that exact moment someone would come to my office door and say those dreaded words, “Do you have a minute?”

“Just look at that view…look at it closely, really take it all in…now close your eyes and take a breath…can you still see the water, feel the breeze and visualize how beautiful and peaceful this is?”

A little over eleven years ago, while my husband and I were on our honeymoon, this was our view. We had left the cares of the world behind, and were enjoying a time of rest and relaxation. I knew that in just a few short days I would be catapulted back into my work environment - a school of over 1500 students at the end of the school year where I would be facing a chaotic schedule operating at warp speed. It was at that moment that I decided to begin a new tradition, that of finding and remembering my happy place.

I once attended a retreat where we sat in rows. At the start of the event, we were asked to find out a few things about the person seated next to us and then introduce them to the group. While the activity was a good way to break the ice, the “row” effect minimized the impact of our bonding together. Making one small change – that of changing the seating arrangement from rows to a circle made all the difference in the activity.

As we sat in a circle, we were able to see the person’s face and their expressions as they spoke. We were better able to get a feel for those in the group because we could make eye contact and smile at them as they shared. Taking the time to connect is critical both in the work environment and in life.

We have the opportunity to make a difference each and every day. The words – “make a difference” are often overused and often ignored. Since it is such a broad statement, we skim right over it. We think of making a difference in big ways and perceive ourselves to be too inadequate, too busy and too unconnected to be able to make a difference.

For many years, I worked with middle school students. One of the things that I love most about this age group is that they will rally around a cause. When they learn about Africa and wells needed, they want to help. If someone they know is suffering from cancer or another disease, they want to help. I currently know a young man who decided that his homeless friend needed a home, so he has set out to raise the money to buy the man a home! (You can find information about how to help him on his Facebook page – Pickles With A Purpose). Sometimes I feel that we as adults could take a few lessons from the young. I heard Andy Stanley say recently that when someone has an idea, we should in response say, "Wow!" instead of "How?" I am greatly encouraged by Luke and am "Wowed" that he has taken this on and is working toward providing a home for his friend!

I was hurting for a local school and school principal yesterday as social media lit up with photographs and comments about the misspelled word on their outdoor announcement board. What should have read, “We are glad you are here” instead said, “We are glad you are hear”. What a travesty and nightmare for the beginning of a new school year! Comments are flying about the quality of public education and how our children are affected. Here is the reality…

We will all make mistakes. Some of them are extremely costly and others cause minimal damage. It is not the mistake itself that defines us, but rather how we handle the mistake that we have made. As a leader, our perception is that if we make a mistake, we will be considered weak and ineffective. Mistakes actually give us the opportunity to take responsibility and to change our direction and behavior as a result of that mistake.

We all have them…the things that frustrate us, take our time and that we complain about, yet if the truth were known, we would be devastated if they were no longer required of us.

If you were to look at my personal social media accounts, the picture that the outside world sees is one of happiness – one of fun. I have photos of my husband, children, grandchildren, other family members and friends involved in all kinds of activities. You would see the places I have travelled and the things that I enjoy. Those things are a significant part of my life, but not the whole sum of my life.

After taking kids to the lake and multiple trips to the pool, I was suddenly washing my fifth load of beach towels in three days. Finding more dirty towels in the laundry room floor, suddenly I felt like all I was doing was laundry. For some reason I became annoyed…and yet…

It occurred to me this morning as my brain was busy just before I woke, that for the first time in thirty-five years, I will not be immersed in a school setting at the beginning of the school year. No more welcome back teacher celebrations announcing our theme for the year…no more meet the students and parents to celebrate all that will be in store for them…I will instead be blogging about this celebratory time and attempting to inspire from afar.

Most of my educator colleagues and friends will be beginning their new journey this week. For educators everywhere, the start of a new school year is approaching and it is exciting! There is anticipation as they wonder, “What will the year hold? What type of students will I have?” “Will I have what it takes to meet the expectations of my school, the students and parents that I serve and to meet the highest expectations – those of my own to be great and make a difference. The thoughts of their leader are slightly different, wondering how in the world to inspire them to welcome the challenges that will surely come.